be to blame
To be the cause of something harmful or unpleasant. I heard that slippery roads were to blame for the accident here this morning.
to blame, be
Be responsible for or guilty of something wrong or bad, as in Obviously the teacher was to blame for the chaos in the classroom, or Mary was not to blame for these errors. [Early 1200s]
be to ˈblame (for something)
be responsible for something bad: If anyone’s to blame, it’s me.Which driver was to blame for the accident?